Heating system



July 29 1958 J. s. PARKINSON ETI'AL 2,845,252

HEATING SYSTEM Original Filed Aug. 13, 1946 EF- I ZT'JQTEG Mann/4 Jim/q'ORNEY United States Patent HEATING SYSTEM John S. Parkinson,Plainfield, and William A. Jack, Hampton, N. 1., assignors toJohns-Manville Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New YorkOriginal application August 13, 1946, Serial No. 690,230,

now Patent No. 2,800,308, dated- July 23, 1957. D1- vided and thisapplication October 11, 1955, Serial No. 539,751

Claims. (Cl. 257-124) This application is a division of our copendingapplication, Serial No. 690,230, filed August 13, 1946 now Patent No.2,800,308 granted July 23, 1957. The instant invention relates to a.wall or ceiling treatment and more particularly to a treatment adaptedto serve as a source of radiant heat. Radiant heating is a recognizedform of heating readily distinguishable from the more customary typesinvolving convection and conduction, such as conventional hot air, wateror steam systems. In the latter the air is initially heated and, byconvection, heats the walls and objects within a room while in theformer a surface such as the room wall is initially heated, the heatleaving the surface in the form of radiant energy which impinges upon,and is absorbed by, objects and persons within the room.

In prior proposals for radiant heating, a room Wall, often the ceiling,has been raised to the required temperature to serve as a source ofradiant heat by embedding hot Water or steam lines in the plaster or inthe concrete making up the ceiling slab. Such systems operatesatisfactorily where the radiant surface is exposed, but are inefficientif the surface is covered as in the case where conventional acousticaltreatments are employed.

The instant invention has for its particular object the provision of aceiling or Wall treatment which will combine both the radiant heatingand acoustical functions. One type of acoustical treatment which 'hasachieved outstanding commercial success is that disclosed in patent toNorris, No. 1,726,500, issued August 27, 1929, consisting of aperforated facing behind which is disposed a sound-absorbing medium. Thefacing preferably takes the form of a plurality of individual metal panscontaining pads of sound-absorbing material and having edges or flangesengaged in runners suspended from the base wall .or ceiling. The outerfaces of the pans lie in substantially the same plane and form thevisual ceiling of the room to which the'treatment is applied. Anotherobject of the invention is the provision of a construction incorporatinga radiant heat-ing system in an acoustical treatment of this type.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a system involvingthe conduction of heat to the faces of the metal pans, the latterforming the radiant surface. A still further object is the provision ofa construction in which the heating medium, namely steam, hot water orthe like, is conveyed through suitable conduits which support the pans,whereby heat will pass by conduction directly to the pans.

Our invention will be more fully understood and further objects andadvantages will become apparent when reference is made to the followingdetailed description of a preferred embodiment and to the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Fig. l is a side elevational view illustrating the construction of theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view, taken at right angles to the conduits, ofthe construction of Fig. 1; and

2,845,252 Patented July 29, 1958 Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic plan view ofone arrangement of the heating system.

Referring to the drawings, there are disclosed conduits 60, which are ofthe same type as those of the embodiments described in the saidcopendiug application, the conduits being similarly connected intosupply and return lines. These conduits 60 themselves form the runnersor supports for the perforated pans of the acoustical system. For thispurpose the conduits may be first mounted in the ceiling at the properintervals and supported by hangers 62. The pans, indicated at 64 inFigs. 1 and 2, and which contain the usual sound-absorbing pads 72, havea special end flange construction to enable them to be hung directly onthe conduit. Each pan has end flanges 68 and semi-cylindrical extensions70 projecting upwardly at intervals from flanges 68. The extensions areseparated by spaces of a length equal to the width of the extensions.The extensions at one end of the pan are opposite the spaces at theopposite end. The extensions, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, project aroundthe conduit to. a point beyond a plane passing through the axis of theconduit whereby they serve as hooks or hangers. When the pans aremounted on the conduit, the extensions of one pan interflt between theextensions of the other whereby both are accommodated. The extensionsmay be cut away at the locations of hangers 62 to permit them to passaround the conduit, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2.

The instant invention provides planes of contact between the conduitsand the pans, whereby the heat may pass by conduction to the metal pans.The pans form a heat-radiant surface overlying the room to provide forthe transmission of heat by radiation to objects within the room. Theconstruction combines with the generally known accoustical systemwithout any adverse effect on its sound-absorbing characteristics.

The above description has been directed to systems employing a heatedfluid as the heat source. However, other sources of heat may be used.For example, the conduits may contain electrical heating elements,suitably electrically insulated from the tubes.

Having thus described our invention in rather full detail it will beunderstood that these details need not be strictly adhered to and thatvarious changes and modifications may suggest themselves to one skilledin the art, all falling within the scope of the invention as defined bythe subjoincd claims.

What we claim is:

1. In a panel ceiling for a heat transfer system including a pluralityof spaced apart fluid conducting pipes and a plurality of panelsarranged in a plane to form a ceiling surface, that improvement in whichthe panels have integral flanges oppositely disposed on the panel andsaid flanges have arcuate extremities which engage the pipes and provideboth support means for the panels from the pipes and heat conductionbetween the pipes and the panels, at least part of the arcuate extremityof one flange of a panel facing in the same direction as at least partof the arcuate extremity of the oppositely disposed flange of saidpanel.

2. In a panel ceiling for a heat transfer system including a pluralityof spaced apart fluid conducting pipes and a plurality of panelsarranged in a plane to form a ceiling surface, that improvement thereinin which the panels have integral flanges oppositely disposed on thepanel, said flanges having means including arcuate extremities providingsupport for the panels from the pipes and heat conduction between thepipes and the panels, at least part of the arcuate extremity of oneflange of a panel facing in the same direction as at least part of thearcuate extremity of the oppositely disposed flange of said panel.

3. A radiant heating or cooling system for a space comprising aplurality of elongated temperature-modifying members, a thermallyconductive panel, metallic means of high thermal conductivity providinga substantially direct path between said members and said panel andproviding support means for the panel from the members said metallicmeans including integral flanges oppositely disposed on the panels, saidflanges having arcuate extremities engaging said temperature-modifyingmem bers, at least part of the arcuate extremity of one flange of apanel facing in the same direction as at least part of the arcuateextremity of the oppositely disposed flange of said panel.

4. A combined radiant heating or cooling and acoustic system for a spacecomprising a building structure, a plurality of elongatedtemperature-modifying members, a thermally conductive and substantiallysound-pervious panel, metallic means of high thermal conductivityproviding a substantially direct path between said members and saidpanel and providing support means for the panel from the members, saidmeans including integral flanges oppositely disposed on the panels, saidflanges having arcuate extremities engaging said temperaturemodifyingmembers, at least part of the arcuate extremity of one flange of a panelfacing in the same direction as at least aprt of the arcuate extremityof the oppositely disposed flange of said panel, and sound-absorbingmaterial acoustically exposed to said panel between said panel and saidstructure.

5. In a panel ceiling for a heat transfer system including a pluralityof spaced apart fluid conducting pipes and a plurality of panelsarranged in a plane to form a ceiling surface, that improvement thereinin which the panels have integral flanges oppositely disposed on thepanel and said flanges have arcuate extremities which engage the pipesto provide both support means for the panel from the pipes and heatconduction between the pipes and the panel, said arcuate extremities ofsaid oppositely disposed flanges being discontinuous and mutuallycomplementary whereby said arcuate extremities of the flanges ofadjoining panels dovetail upon the pipes, at least part of the arcuateextremity of one flange of a panel facing in the same direction as atleast part of the arcuate extremity of the oppositely disposed flange ofsaid panel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,662,746 Jorn Dec. 15, 1953

